"I only get one life and I will not let Fibromyalgia take the joy from my living it."

Monday, February 7, 2011

Energy Chart

I continue to search for blogs of moms with Fibromyalgia. I want to have some support system in place before we receive any foster babies. I've not found much, but I did run across this energy chart on Moms in Flight. It's a pretty neat little tool for easier communication within the family about your Fibromyalgia. The chart includes your likely symptoms that day, your activity level and what you need help with. This is what the author says:

"I have this printed out, laminated and I placed it on my refrigerator door where everyone can see it. Then, depending upon the level number I am at, I have little arrow stickies that point to that level. Then everyone in the house knows how I am feeling that day and I don't have to make a point of telling everyone how I'm feeling. I save energy by not having to constantly remind everyone how I am feeling (and everyone doesn't have to hear me complain!!!!!)"

If you have the chart laminated you could probably use a dry erase marker to indicate your level. Or if you don't laminate the chart, you could use a cute little magnet to put next to your level. I say that because I don't know that a little magnet would be strong enough to go through a laminated sheet. Hope this comes in handy for some of you.

1 comment:

Thank you for posting this and for having this blog!!!! I believe it IS very hard to find support specifically for Mother's with fibromyalgia. Caring for others (especially little ones who don't understand!) while learning to care for yourself from moment to moment is daunting and often demoralizing. I am going to print this off for my husband! Thanks again!

About This Blog

I have Fibromyalgia. Do you know what that is? Fibromyalgia (pronounced fy-bro-my-AL-ja) is a common and complex chronic pain disorder that affects people physically, mentally and socially. It is characterized by chronic widespread pain, multiple tender points, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbances, fatigue and often psychological distress. At least that's what the experts say. But Fibro is different for everyone. I know we are all hurting and every day is hard. What I want is a place to ask questions, get opinions and answers. If you need to described your symptoms or struggles in order to ask questions or to share your solutions, that's great. But let's not just post about how miserable we are. I want to be part of a group that shares this together, but with a positive outlook. Let's learn how to live with this, survive it, be cured from it. I only get one life and I will not let Fibromyalgia take the joy from my living it.

***WARNING:***

content is personal and, as Fibromyalgia is a medical condition, may be graphic in nature.

ABOUT ME

I am 36 years old and live in Texas with my husband, currently two foster babies and two dogs. After two years of refusing to let my doctor diagnose me with Fibromyalgia I was finally and officially diagnosed in the fall of 2008. Looking back I believe I have probably had Fibro since about 2001. Although everyone's case is different I always felt that mine was exceptionally so. After sharing this blog and interacting with others on Facebook I have found that is not the case. I have the pain normally associated with FM however not to the debilitating levels that many of you suffer. I suffer mostly from an extreme sensitivity to external stimuli, i.e. sounds, smells, light, movement, changes in temperature resulting in severe nausea, vertigo and migraines. Before my diagnosis people would often ask me if I was pregnant and my reply would be, "if so I've been pregnant for six years."